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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

“What’s wrong with Baxter?” my husband asked. “He is limping. And he can’t jump up on the
couch.”

An hour beforehand, the cat was fine. Now he was definitely favoring his right back foot. The problem
only worsened overnight, so I made an appointment at a local animal hospital.

After a thorough physical exam and x-rays, the vet felt that
Baxter had a tear or strain in his Achilles tendon. She recommended consulting
a veterinary orthopedic surgeon and putting a soft cast on it in the meantime.

Have you ever tried putting a harness on a cat? Have your
children ever dressed up your cat in a t-shirt or a doll dress? If you have,
you know how they fight against it. That is exactly what Baxter did. He fought
against the cast. He yowled, he hissed, and threw himself on the floor
repeatedly. He dragged himself around with his front paws, laid on his side,
and rolled over one way and then the other. He bit it, tried to run away from
it, and stared at it while whacking his tail down as hard as he could on the
kitchen floor. He reminded me of our children throwing a fit when they were
toddlers. It was not a pretty sight.

It was also rather scary. I was sure he was going to further
injure himself. I called the vet in a bit of a panic and the assistant came to
the phone. “Pam, you must let that on Baxter’s leg. Do not remove it. He will
adjust. It's for his best.”

She was right. After about two hours, Baxter calmed down and
found he could do pretty much anything he needed to do, despite the despicable
cast on his leg. He could even manage small leaps onto the furniture.

Jesus replied,"But even more
blessedare all who hear the
word of Godand put it into
practice."Luke 11:28

When it comes to obeying God, we often behave
as self-destructively as Baxter. Although everything God asks of us is for our
best and brings about spiritual growth and renewal, we stubbornly resist—giving
all kinds of “lame” excuses:

We don’t want to forgive so easily—after all, that person
hurt us!

We don’t want to give generously—we might need that item or
that money ourselves someday!

We don’t want to totally commit—then we couldn't have fun!

We don’t want to avoid gossip—co-workers will think we are
stuck up!

We don’t want to give up our favorite bad habits—we would
just fail anyway.

We don’t want to enter full-time ministry now—our current jobs are much too lucrative.

The list could go on and on.

What
has God asked you to do that you are refusing to give in to? Are your reasons
as weak as some of the ones I mentioned above? Consider the positive results
of obedience—the healing, the joy, the deliverance, the integrity, the freedom
from guilt, the adventure. What might appear to be as restrictive as Baxter’s
cast, ultimately leads to our betterment.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

When I was a young girl my aunt raised chickens. I loved to help her, often sitting in the coop with the hens, hand feeding them. So Scriptures about chickens hold special significance for me.

I am not alone in my interest in chickens. Chickens are one of the most studied and researched species. I recently learned some interesting facts about chicks and hens from an article posted on eXtension.org entitled, “Normal Behaviors of Chickens in Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks”:

Chicks know their mother’s voice and can find her even when blindfolded. Hens will cluck in a certain way when danger is near. The chicks learn to run to her when they hear this sound.

Similarly, if a chick expresses distress, as soon as the mother hen hears it, she will quickly come to check on the chick.

A mother hen will aggressively defend her young against other birds (even other hens who approach her nest) and will bravely fight off formidable creatures such as cats and foxes to protect her offspring.

How often I have wanted to gather your children together

as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings,

but you wouldn't let me.

Matthew 23:37

When Jesus likened himself to a hen, he painted a picture of a fierce defender and self-abasing shelter. Note the similarities:

Through His Word we can learn to recognize Jesus’ voice. In it He warns us of spiritual dangers and predators so we can recognize them and avoid them.

Through prayer, we lift our voices to Jesus, who hears and takes action.

When life pelts us with one thing after another, we can find rest and shelter in the arms of Jesus. He will not only help us shoulder our burdens, he will carry us.

Jesus never leaves us to fend for ourselves. He is always with us, defending us against the fiery arrows thrown by both our fellow humans and by Satan.

Do you feel alone with your problems? Are you overwhelmed? Do you need comfort or a hiding place? Psalm 91:1 says, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Around Christmas we read a post somewhere that suggested saving your
Christmas cards and, after Christmas, selecting one each day and praying for the
person who sent the card. We loved the idea and prayed for lots of
relatives and friends all over the country as their Christmas card was pulled.

With Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and my birthday all
occurring within the last few months, we have had quite an assortment of
greeting cards arriving in the mail. We decided to continue the prayer card
ministry we started with our Christmas cards.

It is exciting to see who we will
be praying for each day. It brings a sense of closeness to that person as we
reminisce about how our lives intertwined at some point along life’s road. And
when we hit upon someone we know very well, we can pray for specific needs in
their lives that we have been made aware of.

I don’t know who first suggested the idea, but I am very
thankful God brought it to Dick’s and my attention and encouraged us to keep
this prayer ministry going all year long. What huge blessings from such a
simple action.

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

I always pray for you, and I make my requests
with a heart full of joy.”

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Psalm 125:4 “O LORD, do good to those who are good, whose
hearts are in tune with You.”

“Ok, people! Tune up!” our music director, Mr. Spayd
announced, raising his voice to be heard amid the random drum taps and rolls,
stray runs, and cacophony of conversations filling the band room. Then he would
play just one note.

I heard the phrase, “Tune up” hundreds of times during the
eleven years I played in marching and concert bands. To get in tune, band
members listened carefully to the one note, then tightened or relaxed their embouchures
and lengthened or shortened particular parts on their instruments until they
were in sync with the standard set by Mr. Spayd. He knew that if we tried to
perform without tuning up, the discord would have caused our listeners to cover
their ears with their hands and groan in dismay.

Psalm 125:4 speaks of those who hearts are “in tune” with
God. Like the director in our band, God determines the one note, the one
standard for being in tune with Him—faith.

Our hearts cannot be in tune with God until we have faith. “Without
faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is
real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.” Hebrews 11:6

Our faith in God must include faith in Jesus Christ. “By the
free gift of God's grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who
sets them free. God offered him, so that by his blood he should become the
means by which people's sins are forgiven through their faith in him. God did
this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In the past he was patient
and overlooked people's sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins,
in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he
himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.”
Romans 3:24-26

Have faith. It’s a simple standard available to everyone who
wants their heart to beat in tune with the beat of God’s heart. Simple? Yes!
Easy? Not always. It will take some adjustments on our part—trusting in Jesus
for our goodness instead of ourselves, yielding control of lives to Him, and
allowing His expectations to determine our actions. But the results are out of
this world (I just couldn’t resist that one)—a heart in harmony with Jesus and
a life directed by Him.